Ryobi - 10-inch compound miter saw, TS1340 (Rating: 3)

I am not sure if this saw is still available with the exact specifications and model number of this one, but they do have one in the same price class: $99.00 and it probably works just as well.

As with all models in this size class, the saw can cut a 2×6 at 90 degrees and a 2×4 at 45. The miter-lock handle in right in front and the bevel release is in the back. It can bevel in one direction out to 45 degrees and the motor is a decently powerful 14-amp job. It comes with a decent carbide blade and the throat plate is a zero clearance job that you slot cut yourself once the saw is ready to go. To make blade changes easier the unit has a button-operated spindle lock. The saw comes with a useful horizontal clamp (although I prefer vertical ones like what I have with my big Ridgid 1290 slider) and a dust bag. The handle is a horizontally oriented type that I prefer to vertical versions. The motor has an electrical brake that stops it in a few short seconds after the trigger is released.

Ryobi makes a somewhat more expensive version of this saw that, I believe, comes with a laser guide, but other than that I cannot see a big advantage to the more upscale version - at least for those on a budget.

OK, $99 is cheap for a miter saw, and I would be remiss if I said that this was a superior saw that will work wonders for any serious woodworker. It will not. It is not all that precise when it comes to angle settings, and the miter pivot tends to bind after a fair amount of use. It still moves OK, but it is not as butter smooth as with my Ridgid 1290 12-inch sliding model.

However, what do you want for ninety-nine bucks? Some time back the wife and I were having a major-grade addition attached to our house and one of the super carpenters on the job (there is always a super carpenter or two on projects like this, and thank God for that) had one of the things in addition to the big DeWalt unit he kept stashed in his truck.

I asked him about it and he said that one simply could not lose with a saw that cost only a buck less than a C-note. He said he could lob it into the back of the truck, leave it out in the rain, and never worry about somebody in the area stealing it when it was left unattended. Yet, he said that he had owned his for eight months and that it still worked just fine, and was a great tool for some of the rough and tumble miter and cross-cutting framing work he had to do. When it finally broke he intended to just go get another just like it and soldier on. In the meantime, if really precise work was required he would use the DeWalt, but for not quite so serious cuts the little Ryobi was a workable tool.

I probably should have let him write this review, but a secondary source is better than nothing, and, besides, I have also used mine for some on-site work and it did fine for me. I helped a buddy do a church/charity project a while back where an individual could no longer use the stairs on their backyard deck. We built a ramp for their new wheelchair and the little Ryobi made all of the necessary cuts just fine.

Hard to beat that.

Howard Ferstler